Tributes pour in for Late Supreme Court Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer; Justice Iyer about Sathya Sai Baba

Last updated on 8th December 2014

Ex-Supreme Court justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._R._Krishna_Iyer, passed away yesterday (Dec. 4th 2014) at 99 years of age. Tributes have poured in for him from across the political spectrum and from many legal luminaries.

PM Narendra Modi tweeted:

Fine lawyer,eminent jurist,incredible philosopher & above all a phenomenal human being.I bow to Justice Krishna Iyer

and

My association with Justice Krishna Iyer was special. My mind goes back to our conversations & the insightful letters he would write to me.
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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar tweeted:

Justice VR Krishna Iyer was a man of unparalleled integrity & vision. (1)
When I was reluctant to start an organisation,he insisted & was founder trustee of Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth(1st Art of Living Ashram).(2)
My association with Justice VR Krishna Iyer goes way back to 1978.We would have hours of discussion on ethos,philosophy & future of India(3)
I have seen Justice VR Krishna Iyer turning from a non-believer into a sincere seeker.(4)

From http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/krishna-iyer-death-a-phenomenal-human-being-says-modi/article6662399.ece :

CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said, “Throughout his life, Krishna Iyer stood for the cause of justice, equality and socialism. With his moral stature and deep compassion for the downtrodden, he played the role of a people’s tribune till the end of his life.”

RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said, “It was only recently I had an opportunity of meeting him, which was an invigorating experience for me. What appealed to me the most was his sense of purpose and unadulterated love for all. An erudite scholar, he was content with simple living.”

“As a lawyer, legislator, jurist, judge and campaigner, he was a unique phenomenon, never lured by power, position or temptations of any kind,” Kerala Governor and former Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam said in a statement.

Ex attorney general of India, Soli Sorabjee writes in this article, He took human suffering seriously, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/krishna-iyer-death-he-took-human-suffering-seriously/article6662400.ece. Small extracts from it:

Krishna Iyer had all the attributes expected of a judge: erudition, quickness of mind, good memory for decided cases and patience in deciding cases. Above all, Krishna Iyer possessed one outstanding quality. He took human suffering seriously, an indispensable requirement in the dispensation of justice. That is what made him not only a great judge but also a human being par excellence.

Krishna Iyer’s life was spent not in hankering after fame and fortune with pomp and glory but in the service of humanity with transparent sincerity.

...

One outstanding human quality of Krishna Iyer was compassion. Compassion, not pity. There is a marked difference. Compassion is whereby we make others’ misery our own and which moves us to the relief of those who are in distress.

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The article, Leaving a light, Justice Krishna Iyer passes away, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/justice-krishna-iyer-passes-away/article6661758.ece, gives a bird's eye view of his life & career.

An interesting thing about him was that he started out as a communist in Kerala, and was a minister in a communist Kerala govt. before going back to the legal profession, eventually becoming a judge in Kerala High Court and then Indian Supreme Court.

An earlier article, on his 100th birthday (i.e. completion of 99 years of age), A unique blend of judicial virtues, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/comment-on-justice-krishna-iyer/article6600153.ece, by a senior advocate of the Supreme Court gives a very interesting account of Justice Krishna Iyer's judicial achievements. A couple of short extracts and my comments on the article then, are given as points below:

[Ravi: That's very interesting. I must confess that till a few years back I was not having much idea about the great contribution by such supreme court judges in changing the India that I lived in, to give more "relief to the disadvantaged and underprivileged". The Indian constitution's text is one thing but how it gets interpreted in administration of the country is another. Today I have a far better appreciation of the role the Indian Supreme Court has played, and continues to play, over the past few decades in ensuring that governments at the centre and the states interpret the constitution in a way that favours the common citizen of India. Hats off to these supreme court judges who have made such great contributions to the nation's well being as a whole. That Justice Krishna Iyer had played a very important role in steering the Indian Supreme court to this positive direction is something that I did not know. Now I better understand why he is treated as a revered figure by some top lawyers and politicians (especially lawyer-politicians).]

[Ravi: Fascinating Supreme Court history related to one of the blackest periods of post-independence India, the period of Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi. My God! What power and what impact these judgements of the Supreme Court judges have. And Krishna Iyer had to keep at bay one of the most brilliant lawyers, I believe, of independent India, Nani Palkhiwala!]

[From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emergency_(India), "In India, "the Emergency" refers to a 21-month period in 1975–77 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi unilaterally had a state of emergency declared across the country." ... "The order bestowed upon the prime minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed. For much of the Emergency, most of Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. Several other atrocities were reported from the time, including a forced mass-sterilisation campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi, the Prime Minister's son. The Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history."]

Justice Krishna Iyer’s crowning glory and finest hour were after retirement. He spurned the lure of pelf and power and governmental patronage and became an unrivalled champion of social justice, constitutional values and the rule of law. He blossomed into an iconic and inspirational figure both nationally and internationally.

[Ravi: That's what seems to have made him a really loved figure by the people at large.]

The renowned Australian Judge Michael Kirby, a former President of the International Commission of Jurists, described him as “incontestably one of the great spirits of the common law of this century.”

[Ravi: Really! It gives me great happiness to know that one of India's former judges has achieved such eminence internationally.]

--- end extracts and comments ---

A correspondent passed on this tribute article by former Solicitor General, Harish Salve, titled, Justice V R Krishna Iyer: Man who rescued Supreme Court from supreme shame, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Justice-V-R-Krishna-Iyer-Man-who-rescued-Supreme-Court-from-supreme-shame/articleshow/45380178.cms.

Two small extract from it:

Some eminent lawyers of the generation before us had mixed feelings about the man who led the revolution in jurisprudence which helped a then-floundering Supreme Court find its identity . He challenged the status quo and thus had his share of critics and followers. The gen next has his judgements to read. For my generation, he was the architect of the Supreme Court, post Emergency . As Professor Upendra Baxi said, from the Supreme Court of India he made it the Supreme Court for Indians. He defined fundamental rights as well as charters of freedom, not just to acquire and hold wealth, but freedom from poverty and misery.

...

Post Emergency , the Krishna Iyer jurisprudence breathed new life into what was seen as a listless institution. Supreme Court today stands tall and is the most powerful institution of its kind in the world and its work has shown that it is sui generis. India needs such a court even if other countries do not have or need such a court.

[From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sui_generis, Sui generis is a Latin phrase, meaning "of its own kind/genus" and hence "unique in its characteristics".]

--- end extracts ---

Justice Krishna Iyer and Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

From http://vahini.org/sss/iv/loveon-d.html

The summer course in Indian Culture and Spirituality in 1979, laid emphasis on the Bhagavad Gîtâ.

...

Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer of the Supreme Court of India, while inaugurating the month-long course in the presence of Bhagavan, said, "It is time that we wean our colleges from becoming houses of vice and violence, with students getting addicted to drugs and cultivating only materialistic desires. Baba's balm of Prema must penetrate Karma, kindle Jnana and sublimate into Dharma." He spoke on the inadequacy of science and its inability to restore peace, morality and brotherhood. He stressed that India must discover her soul and listen to the voice of the sages. Bhagavan pointed out that leaders of today had no will to promote moral and spiritual excellence in their people, while the people themselves had no urge to warn their leaders of the disasters that lay ahead when this foremost duty was neglected.

From page 273 of Wandering in Many Worlds: An Autobiography By V. R. Krishna Iyer [Google Books link: http://books.google.co.in/books?id=A4FKhMcmpdQC&pg=PA273]

My judicial preoccupations put limitations on my occult travels, but on superannuation I became a freer agent. Among the most sublime spirits I have come across in my temporal life is Bhagavan Satya Sai Baba, whose presence and performance are unusually divine. I was once his critic but in my evening mood I did seek darshan of this great soul preserving my scepticism and refusing to jettison the test of verified testimony before coming to any conclusion. I was uplifted and felt myself humble before his lofty personality. He did perform what others could never have done. I have received more than one ring as Baba waved in the air and produced the golden product. He gave gold chains and other wonderful objects to those who came as established devotees and had the privilege of darshan. But while these miracles were far more than magic and were utterly real beyond the laws of nature as we understand them, I have been stunned by his profound speeches. But my purpose was different. What is death? Where are we after death? Is there a communicable link between the living and the dead? What divine process can materialize this life-death continuum? Satya Sai Baba has not yet taken me through this threshold. Message is for the living. They say that he can and indeed, if I can trust Dr. Malini of Madras, she has spoken to her deceased father at the instance of Baba himself. I suspend judgement, although, I have conducted my pursuits in other directions with mediums and met with some success in the field of communication with the dead.

--- end extract ---

A correspondent passed on this youtube video, Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, (1915-2014) Speaks on Sathya Sai Baba, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRhMytWj4tI, 3 min. 26 secs.

Here's a transcript (slightly edited) of Justice Iyer's short talk:
"Sathya Sai Baba whom I have visited several times is Himself Divine. To my mind, he is not mundane but he is Divine. Humanity has to be salvaged. And that can be done not by material prosperity but by Divinity. And here is Sathya Sai Baba - Divinity personified. He has given messages. There have been sages and sages but (for) modern times there is one saint called Sathya Sai Baba. His teachings are profound, profound. And you will never find a similar sage anywhere you go around the world - you will not see that divine class of person. His main message is: (Manava) Seva Madhava Seva. Whenever I see him, he gives a message which is great.

He was running a teaching institution (which) had an annual day - he took me in. And then I told Baba people do not believe me when I tell them that education is totally free in your institutions. He called a boy.
He asked him (which class) are you (in)? I am in the fifth standard.
What is the fee you pay? Nothing.
Then he called another man, an African.
What do you do? I am doing Ph.D.
What is the fee you pay? Nothing.
Are you satisfied? Yes, I am satisfied, Baba.
Everything is free. Surgery is free. One of the finest hospitals but free. Free medicine. Free hospitalization.
Free salvation of the mundane man and making him feel what he is - spiritual being that he is. This is the great teaching. So he says, Madhava Seva (Manava) Seva. Serve man, serve man. And that is the way you can serve God. Humanity through divinity. This is Sathya Sai Baba's teaching.

I have nothing more to say, except to say that I have not seen a greater humanitarian than him. See the God within you, he said. You are searching for God in all kinds of places. But remember there is God within you. So see that God which is within you. Realize what you are. And then you will truly become what you should become, namely, a divine human being.
Namaste!"
--- end transcript ---

Ravi: Wonderful words about Swami from a champion of justice, especially for the poor, in Indian judiciary. I am so glad to see such powerful recognition of and support for Swami and Swami's message.